Canton of Lugano

The Canton of Lugano was a canton of the Helvetic Republic from 1798 to 1803 and a region of southern Switzerland. The semi-autonomous canton was established by Napoleon Bonaparte on 14 April 1798 as a result of the French Revolutionary Wars, and the canton was ruled by a five-man Directory and a national Prefet. In 1799, Austrian and Russian troops pillaged the canton during the War of the Second Coalition, but the French retook the canton in 1800. In 1803, struggles between unionists and federalists led to Lugano being merged with other regions to form the canton of Ticino.